An apparatus for recognizing white lines on a road or the like for a driver who drives a vehicle at nighttime is already known (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 11-272849). In the apparatus, a camera is mounted on the vehicle to photograph views around the vehicle, and the white lines are recognized by processing images obtained by the camera.
However, a driver who drives a vehicle at nighttime cannot recognize surroundings except for roads even using such a conventional apparatus, and thus may feel uneasy particularly when traveling along a strange road.